Messages - klickitat jim

It's fun to see how these discussions go sometimes. A simple suggestion that requires less work can often be debated to death, but an elaborate, more work, expensive, potentially dangerous thing can be just easily accepted.

I don't have a thin profit margin to worry about. And the chickens don't care if it's wet. If there is a beer quality increase from bag squeezing it ought to carry over to batch spargers

Was there an assertion that beer quality increased by bag squeezing? If so, I missed it.

Right, and therefore if something doesn't increase quality, why do it? In this case the squeeze might save $1. I assumed that adding a dollar might fix the implied possible problem, since it seemed to point to clear sweet wort not always happening due to the squeeze. It seemed like the concensus was to keep squeezing, so I assumed the squeeze must be improving the beer for some folks. Hence, my curiosity on whether these same folks would recommend pressing every last drop out of a batch sparged "normal" beer.

Shouldn't batch spargers be pushing down on their grain bed to get every last drop?

Some breweries do this. Alaskan pays such a premium for their ingredients that they need to optimize them as best as possible. They also use their spent grain to generate steam, so having it as dry as possible helps there too.

I don't obsess about clear wort to the boil kettle, or kettle to fermenter. I try not to rack trub to the keg. Having said that, if you can take reasonable measure along the way to eliminate stuff you don't need or want, why not. Squeezing might help you reach your volume and efficiency goals but how necessary is that? Can you just add a bit more grain and water, skip the squeeze and potentially any undesirable stuff? I've never tasted brew house efficiency in the final product, but I have tasted husky astringency and seen unnecessary haze

It seems to me that all the bag is doing is replacing the need for a false bottom or screen, and an outlet for draining. Instead of draining the wort, you lift the bag. That bag and grain bed becomes a filter. Squeezing would likely force things through that your trying to catch. Folks who batch sparge don't press down on the grain bed to get every last drop. Er... at least I don't.